Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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573. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if a coroner will be reappointed to cover south County Tipperary following the retirement of the coroner; the number of cases waiting to be heard by the Coroner's Court in County Tipperary; the average waiting time for a case to be heard in County Tipperary; the reason County Tipperary with a larger population and average annual case load has only one coroner while other counties with a smaller population and case load have three, for example, County Waterford; the efforts she is making to reduce the waiting times for the Coroner’s Court in County Tipperary; if she will urgently move to reappoint a coroner to south County Tipperary; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46271/21]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Prior to the retirement of the coroner for Tipperary South, Mr. Paul Morris on 25 June 2021, it had been agreed by the relevant local authority, Tipperary County Council to amalgamate, by way of Section 7 of the Coroners Acts 1962–2019, the two coronial districts of Tipperary North and Tipperary South with effect from that date.

On 25 June 2021, Mr Joseph P Kelly, the then coroner for North Tipperary, was appointed as the coroner for the newly amalgamated coronial district of Tipperary. Prior to this, Mr. Kelly had acted as Deputy Coroner for the Tipperary south district. There are no plans to reappoint a coroner for the former Tipperary south district.

I understand that Mr. Kelly will continue to provide inquests in venues previously utilised to accommodate families and I am informed that he has ensured a seamless transition.

As the Deputy will be aware, Coroners are independent in the conduct of their functions and neither I nor my Department have any role in the scheduling of inquests by a coroner.

All coroners are continuing to work to schedule inquests in a safe manner. Most coroners hold inquests in local court houses, and as a result of Covid-19, given public health considerations, inquests have unfortunately been severely curtailed.

The Courts Service is working closely with coroners across the country to facilitate inquests and continue to do so while ensuring adherence to public health guidelines.